The One That Got Away
by Carter-Shiraz
Summary: A bored detective is put on an investigation surrounding the murder of a young woman. Coupled with his own domestic problems and insecurities, a spanner is thrown into the gears of Detective Strife's clockwork lifestyle when his new "partner" enters.
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys! Sigh I've gone and done it again! Got a new blast of inspiration and had to get it out there. Don't fret all my other stories are on their way up! For now please enjoy this little offering

XXX

The young woman sobbed. Her heartbeat thundering inside her exposed chest, as her assailant approached slowly. His menacing silhouette seeming to absorb all the light in the alleyway.

"Please no, please," she begged him, her words almost lost by her sobs.

The attacker did not answer. He had already raped her, beaten her and she lay on the cold floor, clothing torn, bruised and bleeding.

"Please," she pleaded once more.

Not deigning to answer, he simply pulled out a small knife.

The last thing she saw was the faint light glinting off its silver blade.

XXX

Detective Cloud Strife was not happy. Though one might argue why the blonde haired detective had reason to be unhappy.

He was attractive, and at twenty five years of age, stable and independent. Few men could boast they had climbed the ranks in the SOLDIER division of the Midgar Police Force nearly as quickly as he had.

The most amazing thing about Detective Strife was not his achievements, not the fact that he had solved the Case of The Vanishing Cat, which had been a manic scam using a robotic cat to rob banks, nor that he was now considered one of the most reliable and reputable detectives in Midgar. It was the fact that he had settled down pretty early in life.

Detective Strife was the perfect family man. His pretty wife Aerith was as charming as could be and had already borne him two beautiful children. A pigeon pair consisting of his daughter Marlene, an intelligent little girl of four and Denzel, who had inherited his mothers curly brown hair. There were no marital issues, the couple was, by all appearances, the picture of love and happiness, just like the Stepford Wives.

Why then, did the young detective feel as if something was wrong? By all appearances he had achieved everything any man living in Midgar would want mostly. Steady income, loving wife, two beautiful children, what was missing.

He groaned as he ran a hand through his shock of messy blonde hair. To top everything off, his boss Lazard Deusericus was taking his own sweet time to show up.

After sitting in Detective Deusericus' office for what felt like an eternity, the man himself finally decided to show.

A handsome man with coifed blond hair that fell almost to his shoulders and bright blue eyes, first impressions went a long way and Lazard knew it.

"Detective Strife," Lazard greeted with a smile, extending his hand as the younger man stood up.

"Boss man," Cloud returned with a smile.

"I would just like to congratulate you on cracking the case," Lazard said. "I'm damn lucky to have you Strife."

"I'm the one who's lucky for being given that assigment," Cloud replied.

That's what it was all the time. Exhanging wooden pleasantaries. Neither of them meant it, but it was a formality that had to be observed.

"Well, take the rest of the day off, take a week while you're at it," Lazard said with a smile.

"Thank you sir," Cloud replied, before walking out. "But I doubt its necessary, I can be back for work tomorrow."

"Nonsense Strife," Lazard replied. "The media is gonna be in a frenzy now that you've solved the case that had us going for nearly six months! Take a vacation, go somewhere abroad!"

"Sir, that would-"

"Not another word Strife, just get your ass outta my office and outta my station," Lazard cut across him with another smile.

"Thank you sir," Cloud replied, knowing it would be pointless to argue.

Taking his leave the detective walked out of Lazard's office.

"So, riding on the waves of global domination, huh Spikey," came an annoying sneer.

Turning Cloud spoke. "Fuck you Reno," without flinching.

The red-headed detective simply laughed at him.

Despite being polar opposites personality-wise, Reno was one of the few people Cloud could comfortably refer to as a friend.

"Drinks after work?" Reno suggested.

"Work's over now," Cloud replied. "I got the week off!"

"Lucky bastard," Reno chuckled. "Well I guess I'm off for the week too!"

"Say what?"

"Hey I'm your partner, you can't function without me and vice-versa. And I was on that robotic cat case too, so I deserve a break!" Reno answered incorrigibly.

"Deasericus is gonna have a seizure," Cloud said.

"He should be used to me by now."

"Full of it today aren't you?"

"When aren't I?" Reno laughed, quirking an eyebrow. "So then let's go for a drink now!"

"Aerith's probably waiting for me at home," Cloud said tersely.

"Screw her!" Reno laughed. "Obviously after we hit the bar," he amended.

"You're the only one who has a dirty mind Reno," Cloud replied.

"Go have no fun somewhere else," Reno rolled his eyes. "C'mon Spike its just a couple of drinks!"

"Tch, fine."

XXX

"So why don't you wanna go home Cloud?"

Reno, after much alcohol and banter, finally decided to ask the question that had been bugging him for a long time. For someone who had shown such reluctance to come in the first place, Cloud sure didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave.

"Who said I don't?" Cloud asked. He was a little tipsy already by Reno's reckoning.

"No one said it, but we both know it," Reno said with uncharacteristic seriousness. It was weird how their usual roles reversed under intoxication. "Did something happen?"

"Nothing's happened," Cloud replied. He was silent for a while before he spoke again. "Aerith is going to have another baby."

"Wow that's great news!" Reno said jovially. "Number three! Dammit Cloud! If I were you I'd be home this very instant!"

"Yeah," Cloud said indifferently.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're not too excited?"

"I am, don't get me wrong its just..." Cloud took another chug at his beer. "Well what's the fucking point?"

"Uhm shouldn't you be asking this like four years ago? Y'know when you had the first one?" Reno asked curiously.

"No not that dumbass!" Cloud snapped. "I mean about my life! Everyday its the same thing. I've gotten...bored of everything. Same routine. Wake up for work, slave away for Deusericus for eight hours, go home, eat, have meaningless chit-chat and then bed!"

"Oohhh so that's what this is about," Reno said dismissively. "At twenty five, you're probably the youngest guy to have a mid-life crisis!"

"That's not it!" Cloud snapped. "I just...wish something would change, to shake things up!"

"Cheat on Aerith and you'll have me to deal with buddy," Reno said seriously.

Before Cloud could reply, his phone rang. Aerith.

"What is it with you and not answering the phone?" Reno demanded, as Cloud set it on the table.

Rather than argue, Cloud rolled his eyes and answered his wife's call. "Hey baby whatsup?"

"_Hey Cloud_!" Aerith's bright voice came through the receiver. "_Just wondering what you up to?_"

Cloud gave Reno an uneasy glance. "Just out for a couple of drinks with Reno."

"_Isn't it a little early for that? What about work_?" She sounded shocked.

Damn here comes the nagging.

"_Cloud..._"

"I got the rest of the week off this morning," Cloud started.

"_Why didn't you tell me?" _Aerith demanded.

"I was just about to," Cloud replied. "I'll be home in a few okay?"

"_Okay, don't take too long okay baby?"_

_"_Got it," Cloud replied before shaking his head and snapping the phone shut.

"Well then off with you!" Reno said, frog marching Cloud off, slapping a couple of notes for the drinks on the counter.

"Since when are you the responsible one?" Cloud demanded.

XXX

Dinner had been a pleasant affair with Aerith happily chatting away about the day's happenings. Cloud had long ago mastered the art of grunting in appropriate places without actually listening to a single word his wife had said.

Marlene was growing up far too quickly for Cloud. She was already attending kindergarden where her teachers repeatedly assured Cloud and Aerith of her intelligence.

As if he didn't already know that! Marlene had read back to him a story-book on memory!

"So now that you're on a paid time-out, I was hoping we could actually do something tomorrow!" Aerith said happily.

"Yeah dad!" Marlene chirped.

"Why not," Cloud replied with a warm smile. "What do you guys want to do?"

"We could go to the movies-"

"I want to go to the zoo!" Denzel interupted.

"Movies!"

"Zoo!"

"Okay, okay, calm down both of you!" Cloud hastily said, as Aerith laughed. Cloud had now gone into "daddy mode". "We have the whole week, so we'll go to the movies tomorrow, and visit the zoo day after, okay?"

Both children seemed happy with the arrangement until Denzel realised something of extreme importance.

"How come we do what Marlene wants first?" He demanded.

Cloud groaned as Aerith laughed.


	2. Chapter 2

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_Hey all! Wow, I sure as hell didn't expect a response like that! Usually I gotta upload a couple of chapters first. On Chapter 1, I already got some enthusiatic feedback!

The last note was so brief, it almost felt soulless huh? Big departure for me LOL, lemme fix that!

Thank you to all of you that reviewed. I say this often, but I probably read every single one at least three times! It really means a lot that other people can appreciate stuff that I worked hard on (much harder than my studies, to be truly honest sigh)

Okay just to get it out there, this fic has a deeper meaning to it then what meets the eye. This will not be directly obvious to anyone, probably not even at the conclusion, but I will explain the concept and drive behind this story at the end! I promise.

Damn, there I go, jumping the gun again, so I'm just gonna end this now so y'all can get to the story.

Once again thank you for the reviews and please leave another one for me. Reviews and update speeds are directly proportional. (Yes I'm a science geek! Sue me!)

XXX

"Phew," Cloud sighed as he laid on his back, panting. Sweat glistened down his body as his wife collapsed beside him in a similar state.

"Damn, still haven't lost it have you," Aerith teased.

"Apparently not," Cloud gasped. When was the last time they had done it like that. Maybe being on a paid leave wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

So it goes without saying that Cloud was pretty pissed off when his phone rang.

"Don't answer it," Aerith said placidly with her head on his chest, rising and falling in time with his heavy breathing.

How badly Cloud wanted to obey. Yet...a certain nagging feeling told him that this was one call he could not ignore.

"Detective Strife speaking," he answered in a clipped tone, as Aerith groaned beside him.

"_Hey, Strife! Listen, an emergency came up, Deusericus wants you at the station pronto," _Reno's voice came through the receiver.

Cloud groaned."What happened to taking the rest of the week off?" He demanded.

"_Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just following orders. I just hope you didn't make any plans for the week."_

_"_As a matter of fact I did," Cloud snapped. He sighed. "Okay so what's the story?"

"_I'm sketchy on the details, but it looks like we got a murder and rape case," _Reno replied.

"Can't you handle it?" Cloud asked. He knew he was grasping at straws, but it was pretty obvious Aerith was losing patience. She sure wasn't looking forward to explaining to the kids why the plans were being cancelled.

Cloud sighed as Reno rebutted his last-ditch effort to get out of it. "I'll be right over."

Cloud hopped out of bed to get dressed, while Aerith huffed. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he said, leaning to kiss her cheek.

She shrugged and looked away. Silent treatment this time? Cloud gave another sigh. "Look, this is my job. Being with you and the kids is amazing, but making the world a safer place for all of you is better. Don't wait up."

Aerith gave him a pleading stare as he exitted the room. A single tear made its way down her cheek.

XXX

"Alright I'm here, what's the deal?" Cloud asked Reno as soon as he caught sight of the red-head.

Reno shrugged. "I know as much as you do at this point, Deusericus is pretty much keeping mum about the whole thing! He wants to brief you personally."

"Whatever it is, couldn't it wait til morning?" Cloud moaned, checking his watch. Nearly midnight, fuck.

"Did you not hear me on the phone or are you just stupid?" Reno asked, giving him a look. "Its a murder/rape case. You know as well as I do cases like that can't 'wait til morning'!"

"Alright, I get the picture," Cloud snapped, irritably massaging his temple as he approached the director's office. "Aren't you coming?" He shot at Reno.

The detective shrugged. "I'm not being assigned this case."

"Well why the fuck not?" Cloud demanded. "You're my goddamn partner!"

"I don't know," Reno replied, Cloud knew then that the other man was also bewildered by the descision. "I just got told that you would be getting a new partner this time."

"Well that helps," Cloud huffed as he pushed into the director's office without knocking.

Lazard looked up from his desk in surprise. "Ah Strife, good to see Reno got the message to you."

"Sir, meaning no disrespect, but I was promised the week off and I was planning to spend the time with my family," Cloud couldn't hide the reproach in his voice.

Lazard nodded. "I understand, however this is a matter of urgency."

Cloud nodded.

"Shall we go to the briefing room?" Lazard suggested. Without waiting for Cloud to agree, he strode out of his office to the nearby briefing room.

The blonde detective followed him into the large white room, noticing guards on either side of the doors as he did so.

"So..." Deusericus began.

"I didn't fucking do it!" Came an angry voice from the corridor.

Cloud turned to look in shock as two officers entered the room tugging a young woman in with them.

"Whatever it is you guys got on me is bullshit! I swear I didn't do anything!" The woman shouted, shaking her captors off. "Motherfuckers!"

Cloud raised an eyebrow as he beheld this young woman. If he weren't such a reserved man, he was sure his jaw would have dropped at the sight of her. She was probably the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. A full body leather suit hugged each and every curve of her sensual body and her face was like marble, pure and classic. From her deep rouge eyes, to perfectly formed lips.

Lips that were presently firing a steady stream of the foulest curse words Cloud had ever heard. And a few he hadn't heard at all.

"Would you mind cutting that out?" Lazard asked mildly rubbing his head.

"Fuck you Lazard!" The girl shouted, glaring at him. "Here I am minding my own business, and two of your goons turn up and next thing I know, my ass is getting hauled to the slacker!"

She snorted, then turned to one of the two guards near the door. "Hey Earl!" She smiled.

"Hey Tifa," the guard replied with a smile.

"How's the wife and kids?" She asked, pleasantly, clearly at home in the station. Without an ounce of modesty she began to pull off her gloves and tossed them onto the desk.

"They all good. Its actually our anniversary tomorrow," he replied, trying not to stare.

"Got anything special planned?" She asked, tipping her eyebrows suggestively, now unzipping her jacket.

"Well we're going dancing and then we're gonna-"

"Fuck each other's brains out," she finished with a smirk. "Do me a favour and use a rubber," she said pulling off the jacket to reveal a form-fitting white tank top that bared her midriff. "You already got three fucking kids, you sure as hell don't need another little fucker running around."

With that she tossed the jacket onto the desk, where it landed with a heavy thud. Earl gulped. "I'll try to keep that in mind."

"If you're finished?" Lazard interjected tersely.

"Whatever Lazard!" Tifa snapped. "I told you, whatever it is you heard I've been doing, I didn't! I'm clean! I swear!"

Lazard chuckled. "Relax, we didn't pull you in to arrest you...again. I'm almost afraid to ask, but where exactly were you when my boys picked you up!"

"Just this other place," Tifa replied with a faraway look.

"Tifa..."

"Okay fine I was at a club, but no drugs, no alcohol. Just dancing!"

"Your record speaks for itself. But we're drifting," Lazard said. "Tifa, this is Detective Cloud Strife. Cloud, meet your new partner."

This time Cloud's jaw did drop. "Wait? You mean she's a cop?"

"I didn't say that," Lazard replied, his eyes twinkling at Cloud's surprise. "Look, Tifa may not exactly be a qualified officer. But I think she will be a major asset to this case."

"Sorry but I don't see it," Cloud snapped, giving Tifa a side-long glance.

"Don't do me any favours Officer Tight-Ass," Tifa scoffed. "Unfortunately for both of us, I owe this cunt. And it looks like he's calling it in."

Lazard nodded.

"Well as soon as this is over, we're square got it?" She demanded. "I owe you nothing?"

"Agreed," Lazard replied. "Now onto more pressing matters."

Cloud was still shellshocked. No way was he working with that woman! He wouldn't be surprise if he murdered him after kissing him!

Wait? What was he thinking? Why was his mind drifting to that. Sure she was attractive, but did that warrant thoughts like kissing her or even...

No snap out of it Strife, you're fucking married! Fantasising was allowed though? Wasn't it? Fuck!

"But-"

"No more buts Dectective," Lazard snapped. "Whether you like it or not Miss Lockheart is a part of this case now!"

"But what can she even do on a murder case?" Cloud nearly shouted.

"I'm sure she'll find a use somewhere along the line," Deusericus muttered vaguely.

Cloud couldn't put into words just how much he hated this man right now! First of all violating the leave that he forced onto Cloud! And then tossing him headlong into a situation like this!

"Now if you're done interrogating me, I think its time to move on to the case," Deusericus continued.

Cloud nodded. Whatever reservations he had could wait, for the moment it was time to get to work.

XXX


	3. Chapter 3

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_Wow! The response has been overwhelming. This is by far the biggest response to a new story I have ever had! Thank you all so much! Its good to see fans of my other works here reviewing Hana Hannah, Arvingen, TAR! Great to see you guys!(Figuratively, obviously). And thank you to all the new reviewers as well!

Interestingly this story has gotten some of my other stories attention as well. I noticed in my e-mails, people that followed/favourited this are doing the same to my other stories as well. Thank you for that. On a side note, those that are following/favouriting that haven't reviewed, I implore you to do so next time. Even if it is just to point out a couple of mistakes! Speaking of which the amount of typo's in the summary is alarming, I'll fix that soon.

Before we carry on, I would just like to mention that "Distinction" was a place-holder title until I found a new one. I'm thinking of renaming the fic "The One That Got Away". I'll let you guys decide whether to keep the old name or use the new one. Just let me know by PM or reviews or whatever else.

I decided to make this fic BIG! Surprising as it was a distraction fic to begin with, but the response is amazing! I also decided to add-in cameo's from other final fantasy titles aside from FFVII effective from the next chapter as making up characters is a headache and it'll add in an interesting factor to the fic.

Once more thank you for all the reviews and please leave another.

XXX

Cloud continued to glower at the obnoxious young woman, as they followed Lazard into the briefing room.

Lazard was either oblivious to the blonde detective's ire, or was outrightly trying to ignore it. Regardless, Lazard had to admit to himself, having his somewhat uptight underling and the care-free young individual he had chanced upon so many years ago in the same room were highly entertaining. Each stood against the other's very existence, contrasting personalities and views. If nothing else this case was bound to be interesting.

"Are we ready to get down to business?" The director asked once the two were seated.

Cloud nodded his assent, while Tifa simply waved her hand in a careless fashion.

Realising that was the best response he would get from either of them. Tifa was likely infuriated with his "calling in his debt".

"The murder happened approximately twenty hours ago. The victim was a young girl named Lenne Jones. She was found in alleyway in Sector Six. Cause of death is currently unknown, but the autopsy is being performed as we speak," Lazard began. "What we do know for sure was the victim was beaten heavily and raped, whether this was before or after her death is still being determined. So that's it for the overview. Any questions thus far?"

"Is the crime scene being investigated?" Cloud asked.

"It was investigated from earlier this morning, Cloud," Lazard replied.

"Well why are you only acting now?" Tifa demanded. Her legs had been nonchalantly thrown ontop of the desk in front of her, but Lazard noticed her shoulders were tense and her eyes were blazing with a fire more intense than any Lazard had seen.

"The Sector Six is controlled by the TONBERRY division, they figured they could handle the case...but complications arose."

"Complications?" Tifa asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lazard nodded. "The lack of evidence for one thing."

"The entire day has passed since the girl was found and they have no leads?" Cloud asked. "But they know SOLDIER is the best division in Midgar. This case is more than a simple theft. Rape and murder are two of the worst crimes in society!"

"Their reasons are neither here nor there-" Lazard attempted to respond, but Tifa cut across him.

"Glory," she said bluntly. "TONBERRY must have thought you had enough attention with that robotic cat! So they figured they'd handle this one and be Midgar's latest bunch of cardboard heroes!"

Cloud's eyes widened at the realisation.

"Its a pussy move," Tifa said with a nod. "But all cases need to be reviewed by the high authorities after twelve hours, so that's probably how you got the case."

Cloud was now most certainly intrigued by this woman. Despite her rough-and-tumble appearance this woman was alarmingly knowledgeable of Midgar's justice system. Was she a lawyer? What game was Deusericus playing?

"Yes Tifa, that is correct. I had to fight to get this case transferred to SOLDIER," Lazard said with a nod.

"Has TONBERRY managed to come up with any leads?" Cloud asked, not wanting to get involved in the politics of the justice department.

"When I requested the case be turned over to SOLDIER, they gave a lot of stories they thought would be viable," Lazard replied.

"But you think each and every one of those are bullshit," Tifa finished.

Lazard nodded. "I'm afraid that even if they weren't, we cannot count TONBERRY as allies in this case. I don't expect them to help you at all. You will be starting from scratch."

"So we've skipped a step here," Cloud cut in. "We have no crime scene to investigate, and all evidence is being held by TONBERRY."

"You think they'll have tampered with any evidence?" Tifa asked, directing her question at Lazard.

The director shook his head. "Its unlikely they would go so far as to openly oppose us, but I will say proceed with caution."

The new "partners" nodded in assent. "First thing we need to do is to find a motive," Lazard ordered. "Tifa I want you to try and do a background check on the victim, find out what she did and who it is she might have possibly angered."

"Would you like me to pay her family and friends a visit?" Tifa asked.

Lazard shook his head. "No, that's something I want both of you to do together. I know you don't sleep so you'll have a starting point by morning. Cloud, your job is to arrange a meeting with the TONBERRY operatives. You might as well use whatever they've found, even if it does turn out to be false. Also I want you to speak with the doctor examining the victim's body. Take Tifa with you when you actually meet her, but make an appointment first."

Both nodded their assent.

"Well then, that is all for tonight," Lazard concluded with a slight yawn. "Good night and I wish you luck. Tifa do you need a ride home?"

"I can get home on my own," Tifa said shortly.

"Well in that case. Good night detective."

"Good night sir," Cloud replied.

Lazard hurried out of the room soon after. Cloud turned to look at the girl, Tifa.

She spared him a glance and followed him out of the briefing room. Reno had probably gotten tired of waiting for him and had left. Only the night guard remained in the station. Cloud gave him a nod as he opened the door for Tifa and followed her out.

He walked to his car and got in. He was about to turn the ignition when he noticed the girl walking off. Despite his misgivings about her, his policeman instincts would not allow him to let her roam the streets late at night. Turning the car on, he slowly drove til he was parallel with her.

"Hey! Its not safe out here at this time," he called. "Hop in."

"I'm a big girl, I can handle myself," she retorted, not even sparing him a glance.

"I don't doubt that," Cloud answered. "But put it this way, I'd feel better if I gave you a ride."

"Look, I don't want your pity asshole," Tifa snapped, whipping to face him. "So why don't you fuck off back to your happy little home and leave me alone."

Stopping the car, Cloud jumped out and blocked her way. "Why are you acting like such a bitch? I don't know you from a bar of soap and you treat me like I'm your worst enemy!"

"What's your problem?" Tifa snarled.

"My problem? I don't even have a fucking problem!" Cloud had to fight to keep himself from shouting. He took a deep breath then sighed. "Look, whether we like it or not, the two of us are working together now. If we can't be friends, we can at least be civil to each other."

For a moment it seemed as if the girl would attack him, but her face softened. "Alright then, but before we go any further there's two things you need to know about me."

"And they are?" Cloud asked.

"The first thing is: I'm not interested in you in any way. And if you even think of touching me in the wrong way I will make sure that you die a slow painful death," Tifa promised.

"Who said I even would?" Cloud snapped. He snorted. "Don't flatter yourself toots, I'm married and you're not my type."

Her eyes flashed in anger, but she quickly rearranged her expression to cold indifference. "The second thing you need to know is that I will do anything to get to the bottom of this case. I may not be a cop, and Deusericus isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he's not stupid. He knows that this is something close to me, which is the only reason I'm agreeing to work with you!"

"Fine by me,"Cloud replied. "Now get in the fucking car before both of us get kidnapped and raped."

Tifa didn't say a word to the detective as she strode to the car and took a seat. Despite her intial distrust and dislike of police officers in general, Lazard being the exception, this man intrigued her. She wasn't sure why exactly, but he did. Sure he was handsome, but a lot of men are good-looking.

No, this one was most definitely something new. Tifa turned her face to the front. Whatever mystery this man held, the more important one lay ahead.


	4. Chapter 4

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_Hey everyone! Thank you so much for the response! I'm actually supposed to be studying for Applied Mechanics, but instead here I am and god curse whoever invented the subject! May he feel the pain of everyone he inflicted this curse on!

Anyway, daily rant over. By an almost unanimous decree this story's title will change to "The One That Got Away" effective from next chapter onwards.

I know I promised action and cameo's for this chapter, but the intro ended up a lot longer than I initially planned so sorry about that. But here's more character developement and interaction so enjoy!

XXX

Morning came a little too soon for Cloud's liking. If it weren't for the incessant ringing of his alarm clock, the detective would have gladly turned and gone back to sleep.

As he forced himself out of bed, he was only slightly happy Aerith had done as he said and didn't wait up for him. He had found his wife peacefully asleep in bed when he returned home from dropping Tifa off at her place.

Tifa? Oh right, he had been assigned a new case. Joy.

Deciding he could wait until after breakfast to take a shower, he walked towards the door. Aerith, she really was the perfect woman, she had even closed the door so Denzel and Marlene's breakfast bickering wouldn't disturb him.

Smiling to himself at the memories of the two arguing constantly and listening to them at it, Cloud's smile dropped off his face as he heard a new, masculine voice joining in. A voice that was all too familiar.

Frowning as he pushed open the door, Cloud beheld the sight before him.

Marlene and Denzel were happily scarfing down their cereal, with Aerith smiling as she sipped at her coffee, there was nothing out of the ordinary there. Instead, sitting next Aerith, chatting animately with her was a man.

He was tall, over six feet, with jet-black hair and tightly muscled. Most guys would be intimidating with such features, but this man wore an expression of puppy-like innocence on his face, it was impossible not to feel comfortable around him.

Unless your name was Cloud Strife of course.

"Hey Cloud!" Aerith said brightly. "Look who turned up in the night!"

"What's up bro!" The man said.

"Zack," Cloud replied, with a smile on his face and holding out his hand.

"Come on Cloud! That's not how brothers greet each other!" Zack said with all the exuberance of a dolphin, leaping up and enveloping Cloud in a bear hug.

"Good to see you too!" Cloud managed to choke out.

"Zack, if you wouldn't mind easing your grip on my husband, I kind of need him alive for my credit cards to work," Aerith gently admonished the man. Zack was sometimes like a child packed into his large body.

"Oh yeah right!" Zack said with a blush, dropping his younger brother quickly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Cloud asked his wife, unable to keep a grin off his face. Zack was contagious!

Aerith giggled. "You just left when Zack turned up. I figured you'd be tired when you got home, so we decided to surprise you!"

"Dad! Dad!" Denzel shouted. "Uncle Zack said he was gonna take us ice-skating when Marlene gets home!"

"Calm down boyo!" Cloud laughed, invoking his nickname for his son. "Indoor voice!"

"Yeah and he said he'll help me bake cupcakes later!" Marlene added, with just as much volume.

"Well that's great!" Cloud smiled. "But before you guys can have fun with Uncle Zack, you need to get to school young lady! And someone else has to get to daycare," he added with a pointed look at Denzel.

A collective groan went through the kitchen, including Zack's. As the kids hurried off, Marlene heading to the school, which was across the street and Denzel skipping off to the daycare next door, Cloud turned to his brother.

"So what's the deal?" He asked.

"What? A guy needs an excuse to visit his brother?" Zack asked looking mortally offended.

"Cloud, ease up on him will ya?" Aerith laughed. "The man just got here and already you're giving him the third degree!"

"Let's just get the nasty stuff out of the water first huh?" Cloud replied.

"Okay fine, I kinda uhm..."

"Zack."

"Lost my job!" Zack burst out.

"You got fired _again?! _Zack what the hell?" Cloud demanded. "Come on! How long is this gonna go on?"

"Look I'm not trying to shack up on you or anything!" Zack said, looking as though he might faint at any moment.

"Cloud aren't you being a little harsh?" Aerith said, giving her husband a furtive look.

Cloud massaged his head. "Look, I'm not trying to be a nag or anything but Zack you're twenty-eight years old! You should be stable by now!"

"We can talk about this some other time Cloud!" Aerith snapped, comforting Zack who looked distraught at Cloud's disappointed stare. "Sorry he's a little grumpy, he's paid leave got taken away!"

"Understandable," Zack said dismissively. "So how's things going? The kids look great!"

"Yeah they're doing perfect!" Aerith replied enthusiastically.

"And what about you two?" Zack asked, looking between them.

Cloud groaned and tucked into his breakfast. Just leave them to it. He vaguely heard Aerith and Zack gossiping away about something or the other.

Zack was a sociable person. Think Paris Hilton with muscles, that just about sums him up. Aerith for her part was just happy to have an interactive listener to the neighbourhood stories.

"So passion still there?"

Cloud's head snapped up to attention at the question. Oh no! Zack did not just fucking go there!

"I don't know Zack," Aerith replied with an air of confidenciality, as if Cloud wasn't in the room. "We still do it! But the spark's gone!"

And Aerith? Curse her, this is mutiny woman! Mutiny! Betrayal! High treason dammit!

"Ever try spiking his coffee with boner medicine!"

"Zack his a cop! He can sniff shit like that out!"

Since when did Aerith curse?

"Uhm in case you two haven't noticed, I'm right here!" Cloud muttered irritably. "And I don't need any boner medicine to help me out, I'm pretty good in the sack!"

"Cloud how would you know?" Zack demanded. "You can't exactly have sex with yourself! And masturbating doesn't count!"

Cloud expected some backing from Aerith, but the foul woman, may her soul rot in hell, giggled. That's right! She giggled, like a bloody school-girl!

Cloud was spared the bother of answering by a knock on the door.

Cursing under his breath he grumpily stalked towards the door and flung it open.

"What?" He snapped before seeing who it was.

"That's attractive," the woman commented with a quirked brow. "Mind it I come in?"

Cloud quickly gave her the up-down. She was dressed decently, nicely in fact. Wearing a denim jacket with jeans. Her long hair was draped over one shoulder in a loose, but neat braid. Well aside from her tight fitting leather suit, she seemed to have a distinct sense of style.

All the same, Cloud could almost hear the drool from Zack's mouth the second he laid eyes on her. Tifa would probably beat him senseless! Battery was not a case he wanted to sort out!

And as for Aerith? Cloud had to force down a shudder. Better not to think what Aerith would do.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Cloud began.

"Cloud! Don't be rude, let our guest in!"

Once you see what she looks like, you won't be so enthusiastic, Cloud thought.

Tifa looked at him expectantly, with a sigh, he moved aside.

"By the way," Tifa said with an evil smile. "I love the pyjama bottoms!"

Oh hell! Why did he choose today to wear the bright, stripey pants Aerith and the kids had gotten him for father's day. Wait? Why did it matter. This was his fucking house! Why did she make him shy.

"Aren't you gonna introduce us, Cloud," Tifa asked, gazing at Zack and Aerith with a midly confused look.

As Cloud had anticipated, Aerith had looked completely murderous, and Zack...well you never could tell.

He gulped. "Tifa, this is my wife Aerith and my older brother Zack. Tifa's my new partner.

Tifa smiled at them, Zack had enough sense to smile back, but Aerith, without dropping the look of seething fury, nodded.

"Uhm Aerith, I don't think he'll be needing the boner medicine," Zack whispered in a conspiratory fashion.

"Why not Zack?" Aerith replied with a deep frown. "Because he won't have a dick to get a boner when I'm done with him?"

"I was thinking maybe because she _is _boner medicine," Zack said.

Aerith made a noise that sounded like a growl, squeal and roar all at the same time.

"Listen," Zack said quickly. "Divorce isn't an option. Think of the kids!"

"Who's thinking of divorce," Aerith whispered. "Murder is more likely. At least than we have the insurance money!"

Tifa proved to possess an inconveniently sharp sense of hearing. "Impotence run in the family?" She asked Cloud.

"Not that I'm aware," Cloud replied, trying not to seem offended.

"Well if you need boner medicine and you have a wife that looks like that, I think you should get checked up," Tifa replied.

Woman are strange creatures, anyone could tell you that. Cloud, cracking good detective that he is, would be lying if he said he could crack the code that is a woman.

All he knew was that Aerith had suddenly gone from seething, to warm. Flattery, he thought, she probably only heard Tifa calling her pretty in that entire sentence.

"Well, anyway I'm here to tell you that I've looked into the victim's background, home adress, everything. But I think we should go see the doctor and get the autopsy first," Tifa said as Zack and Aerith busied themselves. "You did call and make an appointment right?"

Shit, Cloud thought. I was gonna do it this morning, but then Zack. "Not yet."

Tifa rolled her eyes. "Okay, just as well I made the call and got us a ten a.m. appointment. Gives you enough time to shower. I'll meet you at the lab."

With that she turned and strode to the door. "Nice meeting you guys," she smiled at Zack and Aerith.

"She seems nice," Aerith said after the woman had left.

"Only because she said you were pretty!" Cloud snapped, feeling irritable with everything.

"Come on Cloud, its the principle of women. See by giving the complement and acknowledging your marriage, Tifa has thrown the gauntlet down, shown she is no threat, see?" Zack explained.

"And how would you understand that?" Cloud asked.

"Spend enough time around and actually pay attention when they talk and you might learn something," Zack shrugged.

"Now see!" Aerith said, elbowing Zack. "This guy gets me!"

Cloud rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna shower, then I'm off! Zack, what you gonna do today?"

"Uhm..."

"He'll hang out with me at the shop," Aerith offered, refering to the small florist she ran.

"Sure why not!" Zack said excitedly.

Cloud laughed. "Alright both of your funerals, not mine."


	5. Chapter 5

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_Hey everyone! Whew! Another chapter's out! Action FINALLY starts here! The swearing has been toned down a little. And note that I have absolutely no professional knowledge of how autopsies or background checks (interrogations) are performed aside from watching Law and Order on occasion. I decided to delve into a couple of other issues I have with society today while I'm at it.

I realise this work is slightly controversial, and thus far its been a little toned down, I'm trying to avoid graphic detail here, so I'm leaving some of it to your imagination.

Thank you everyone who reviewed, hope you leave me another one!

XXX

Cloud wasn't sure just exactly how he had made it to the morgue with minimal incidence.

Zack had happily skipped off to work with Aerith. That man was insane. Weren't blondes supposed to be the ones who had more fun? Cloud shook his head at the very idea.

"Good you're on time," a female voice spoke behind him.

Cloud turned to see Tifa approaching him from behind.

"Shall we get this done then?" He asked.

Tifa chuckled as she pushed her sunglasses from her nose to her forehead. "Not one for small talk huh?"

"I could say the same for you," Cloud retorted.

Tifa nodded. "You may be a stuck-up prick but you get me."

"Let's just say I'm not one to fool around with bullshit," Cloud answered as they stepped through the doors.

Can't get much creepier than a morgue, Cloud thought. Black everywhere. No colour whatsoever. Maybe it was the figuritive stench of death about the area. A sense of fore-boding, almost tangible.

"This place is giving me the creeps," he whispered to Tifa.

Tifa snorted. "Some fearless cop you are!"

"You're pretty stuck up yourself," Cloud commented.

"When did I say I wasn't," Tifa replied.

The receptionist was a dim-looking woman with nondescript brown hair and a sour expression on her face.

Guess this place got to her too, Cloud mused.

"Hi, we're here to see Dr Rui," Tifa said.

"In a moment," the receptionist answered, picking up a phone. "She'll be right with you."

The pair nodded and took a seat nearby.

"Feels like I'm going to see a dentist," Cloud muttered to cover the silence.

Tifa gave him an odd look. "And that's relevant why?"

Cloud shrugged. "I got two kids, dentist trips are a nightmare, and by the looks of things this one's even worse!"

"Never seen a dead body before?" Tifa inquired.

"As a matter of fact no," Cloud said. "You?"

"Can't say I have...at least not in the flesh."

"You are pretty fucked up."

"Thanks for stating the obvious." Tifa snapped.

Cloud was saved the hassle of replying by the arrival of the doctor.

"Detective Strife? Miss Lockhart?" Dr Rui asked as she walked in.

Cloud took the moment to examine the woman. She was tall, lean and wore a pair of thin-rimmed glasses. Her light-brown hair was pulled back from her face and she wore a stained white surgical coat over a red dress.

Cloud stood. "That's right. Dr Rui?"

"Shalua," Dr Rui replied. "I performed the autopsy on your victim. I suppose you'll want to see her personally."

Cloud had to force his face not to grimace at the strange expression. If Tifa thought the notion strange at all, she did not show it.

"I'd rather get this over with as soon as possible," Tifa said.

Shalua nodded. "This way," she beckoned.

The two followed her all the way into a nearby ward. Masses of shiny equipment, not all of them pleasant, lined the room. In the center of the ward stood a long silver bed with a white sheet covering the body that lay on top of it.

"Alright Lenne," Shalua said slipping of a pair of surgical gloves and handing a pair to Cloud and Tifa. "Time to tell your story."

Cloud peered at the doctor as she slowly pulled the white sheet off the victim's face. He supposed that the girl must have been quite pretty in life. All semblence of beauty, however, had been lost in death's cold embrace.

The girls skin was now stark white, and every inch of her face was covered in bruises and cuts. It was not a pleasant sight.

Tifa, showing no signs of disgust, strode over to the cadaver. "Whoever did this really fucked her up huh?"

Cloud was about to start a tirade about unprofessional behaviour before Shalua chuckled darkly. "That's putting it mildly," she said. "The rest of the body is even worse, but I figured we'd start from the head and work our way downwards."

"Good call," Cloud mutted moving closer to take a better look. The sight of this girl, beaten and scarred made the detective's insides seethe with fury. How could any sane human being inflict this pain to another, especially a young girl? Cloud kept on seeing the girl's face disappear, replaced by Marlene's.

He shuddered. No! That would never happen! He would never allow it. His heart ached for this girl's parents. He knew if it was his own little girl...no!

"Well its pretty bad, but its not the worst I've seen," Shalua said nonchalantly.

Cloud supposed you needed to be particularly stong, both physically and emotionally to take on a job like this. Or slightly insane. Shalua seemed to fill the post on both counts. "It gets worse than this?" He asked, peering at the cadaver's face. Over her left eye was a bruise larger and more prominant than the rest.

"Yeah, about a year ago another girl was sent here for similar reasons, _that _was bad!" Shalua replied.

"So, what was the cause of death?" Cloud asked.

"Well, judging from the trauma around the neck, its possible the girl was strangled to death," Shalua replied. "But if you look at this trauma here," she continued indicating the large bruise Cloud had noticed over the girl's eye. "Its a lot larger than the rest and the skull has been fractured at several points."

"So he didn't hit her with his fist," Tifa finished. "Must have slugged her with something heavy."

"Nope," Cloud interupted. "The bruise is uneven and the skin is broken at points, like something sharp."

"That's right," Shalua said looking genuinely impressed. "She was found in an alleyway its probable that he slammed her face first into the walls. But if you look here," she said, drawing the sheet further down to the victim's waist. "There's multiple deep stab wounds, so she could have been stabbed to death."

"Well this was certainly a thorough job," Cloud said, gritting his teeth.

"Didn't leave anything to chance," Shalua agreed. "You know," she said with a musing glance. "If I were to speculate I'd say this was a first timer."

"Why would you say that Doctor?" Tifa asked with a frown.

"Well, when you working with a cold, hard killer, they normally know what to do. Generally the victims are beaten, especially if the perp's a sadist, but usually only one of the wounds are fatal."

"But this guy didn't know what he was doing," Cloud murmured. "So he just did everything he could think of."

Shalua nodded. "As I said, many of the stab wounds are deep and fatal, one would have done the job."

"What about the rape?" Tifa asked.

"Well," Shalua said, drawing the sheet down past the victim's thighs. "There's sever bruising around the victim's genital area, but no semen was found inside the edjacula."

"Now I'm confused," Tifa said rubbing her temples. "The guy doesn't know how to kill his victim but he's smart enough to pull out?"

"Now you see why I'm so confused myself," Shalua said, for the first time, Cloud sensed a hint of frustration in her voice.

Tifa grimaced and checked at the throat once more. "The marks are large, but the fingers look slender."

"Meaning our perp's a tall guy, but not too large," Cloud filled in.

"What about all these little cuts?" Tifa asked. "There's a shitload of them, but they're all shallow and none look like more than minor scrapes."

"Probably made by a knife," Shalua answered. "I can't say much about them though, it seems they're only there for show."

"This guy's a fucking maniac!" Cloud nearly exploded.

"Calm down, Cloud," Tifa admonished.

"So bang goes my original theory," Shalua said mildly.

"He was probably stabbing her for sadistic pleasure," Cloud nearly spat.

They continued to scour over the body, searching for clues, for the next hour. While there was nothing concrete to go on, Cloud was certain they now had a rough idea of what their perp was like.

After gleaning whatever they could off the body, the pair exited the building, thanked Shalua and went on their way.

"Well at least we got that done," Cloud remarked as they walked down the bustling street.

"We've definitely made some progress," Tifa admitted softly. The young woman's face was a mask of indifference, but her eyes showed frustration. "So," she said to Cloud. "You're the detective, what now?"

"I think we should probably get a background idea on our victim." Cloud answered. "See what she was like, what she could have done to land herself in a bind like this."

"Assuming this wasn't just a random attack, right?" Tifa asked.

Cloud shrugged. "Regardless, we should look into it."

"I agree with you," Tifa assured him. "Seems Lezard knew what he was doing."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cloud asked.

"There's probably hundreds, maybe thousands of cases like this that have never been solved due to imcompetence and corruption," Tifa explained. "I'm just saying it doesn't look that way this time."

Cloud frowned. "I'd say I was getting a compliment in a fucked up, round-a-bout sorta way."

"Well you were," Tifa smirked. "Don't get used to it Spike."

"But you just had to screw with my head first right?" Cloud sneered.

Tifa shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe, maybe not."

Cloud shook his head and followed after her, unable to keep a grin from his face.

XXX


	6. Chapter 6

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_Hello everyone! I know its been ages since my last update, but sigh. Life happens.

In any case thank you to all my readers and reviewers and thank you to Luna of the council for her wise words.

This chapter gets the intrigue running, in my opinion and sets the stage for the next chain of events. Also for plot purposes, Midgar is not a polluted nightmare. Its pretty much like any other urban metropolis, it even has a beach for reasons that will become apparent in this chapter.

So thanks again to all readers, I hope you enjoy and please review!

XXX

"Well...looks normal enough," Cloud muttered, looking at the house.

"Yeah, wouldn't expect this to be the home of a recent murder victim," Tifa agreed, following his gaze.

That's the problem, no one expects that sort of thing, the kind you read about in the paper, or watch on the news, to happen to oneself. Everyone's too caught up in their own private cocoon to worry about others. Midgar especially was testament to this fact.

The Jones' residence was indistinguishable from its neighbours; a solid two-story building painted white with a dark roof. The fresh smell of freshly-mown grass hung in the air, with only a small waist-high fence as protection.

All in all, this house fit perfectly into the more affluent sector of Midgar. This place had probably never set eyes on two wayward detectives. Cloud tried hard to ignore the unease that shook him, truth be told, he had never felt this out of place in his life!

To his left, Tifa seemed no more at ease, her slim shoulders were tense as she stared straight ahead.

"So...shall we?" Cloud asked, trying to keep his nerves down.

Tifa gave a small nod and started forward.

When they reached the entrance, Cloud lifted his hand and rapped the wooden portal a few times.

They didn't have long to wait, they door opened slightly to reveal a young woman who couldn't have been any older than seventeen. She was small built for age, barely reaching Tifa's shoulder. She had shoulder length, straightened brown hair, that was swept away to the side. Cloud had to admit the girl was extremely pretty, possibly one of the cutest he had seen in his life! Her most interesting feature was her eyes. One was sea-green and the other a clear sky-blue.

"Hello, can I help you?" She asked in shy voice.

"Hi," Cloud began. "Is this the Jones' residence?"

The girl nodded her head in the affirmitive, but eyed them suspiciously.

"I'm Detective Cloud Strife, Midgar Police Department," he said, showing his badge. "This is my partner Tifa," he went on, gesturing to her. "Are your parents home?"

"Is this about Lenne?" The girl asked, her voice shaking.

The pair nodded, as the girl's eyes began to shine with tears. "I'm Yuna," she managed to get out. "Please come in."

Cloud nodded, following her inside with Tifa right behind him. He heard Yuna softly shut the door behind him, as he looked around the house.

It was classy, he supposed. Tiled floors, high ceilings. What interested him most were the paintings which lined the walls. All depicting some epic battle ages old, with a strange symbol; a spider-like rune with two angel wings and a halo, dominating each scene.

"Followers of the Yevon faith," Tifa affirmed, following his gaze.

"Please come this way," Yuna motioned them into the living room. "Please make yourselves comfortable," she said, offering them seats.

Cloud sat, noticing the softness of the sofa as he did.

His eyes were drawn to a large mural on the opposite wall as Yuna hurried off to fetch her parents.

It was painted in hues of bright yellow, burnt orange and blue against a pure-white backdrop. It featured a woman in long flowing robes and a rolling cloud of colours.

The woman's hands were outstretched and the angle of her sleeves indicated that she was dancing. Her eyes were closed, the expression on her face was one of total inner peace. In front of her was a vaguely man-shaped cloud. It billowed out, flying away in the wind at the woman's command.

"The Sending," he heard Tifa say beside him.

"What?"

"The Sending," she repeated, staring at the mural. "Yevonites believe that when a person dies, their spirits will linger in this world. Enveloped in sorrow they become envious of their former lives and the living and become malicious spirits."

"And so?" Cloud asked.

Tifa shrugged. "Not a Yevonite myself, but I know the mythology. Basically the Sending is a ritual for departed, which guides their spirits to the Farplane, Yevon's version of Heaven if you wanna think about it that way."

"Hobby of yours?" Cloud smirked.

"I guess you could say that," Tifa replied with a smirk of her own.

They had to cut their conversation short as Mr and Mrs Jones walked in. Cloud stood to greet, while Tifa simply remained seated.

Mr Jones was a tall man who greatly resembled his daughter, while Mrs Jones was a small blonde woman with striking green eyes.

"Good day to you Detective," Mr Jones said holding his hand out.

Cloud returned the pleasantries with him and his wife; Mr Jones politely asking him to call him Braska. Odd name, not that anyone named Cloud had any right to be laughing at other people's given names. The detective often wondered what his parents had been smoking to give him such a hippie name.

"So, Braska," Cloud began once they finished the introductions. "I take it you're up to speed about the investigation."

Braska nodded, as he took a seat beside his wife. "When we heard, we couldn't believe it," he muttered softly, almost to himself. "Lenne never did anything to deserve something like this."

"Do you have any idea who could have done this?" Tifa cut in.

Trust her to be blunt, Cloud thought irritably. The couple was clearly in mourning about their late child. And here Tifa just had to open her big mouth.

Braska shook his head. If the older man took offence to Tifa's rude manner, he didn't show it. "Lenne was never a rebellious child. She followed Yevon's teachings with utmost devotion. I can't give any insight to this, except that perhaps it was a reminder to us."

"Reminder?" Cloud asked, his eyebrow popping.

"Yes, we have become lax in our prayers," Braska replied. "Yevon teaches us to fear the evils of this world. We were careless, we did not protect ourselves sufficiently."

Cloud exchanged a seriously befuddled look with Tifa, who was looking close to outraged. For a man who had just lost a daughter, Braska seemed more concerned with his faith or lack thereof.

"What was Lenne doing on the night of her attack?" Cloud said, trying to steer the conversation away.

They continued to try and get answers from Braska and his wife, yet somehow their replies always seemed to find their way back to the Yevon faith.

Figures, what a pain, Cloud thought to himself. These were probably fanatics! While he was trying to pay attention to Braska's ramblings, he noticed Yuna hovering near the edge of the room, listening intently.

He nudged Tifa slightly, a move that could at best be seen as unintentional, and stared hard at the young girl. Tifa, evidently caught the hint and gave an almost inperceptable nod.

Without warning, she stood up. "I'm sorry I need to use the bathroom." She announced.

"Of course!" Braska replied, breaking off somewhere in the middle of his monologue. "My wife will show you the way."

"No that's fine, I'm sure she wants to talk to Cloud," Tifa shot him down. "Yuna can show me. Right?" She went on, staring at her.

Yuna looked shocked at the mention of her name, but recovered quickly and nodded. "O-okay," she stammered.

Cloud fought down the urge to smirk as the two women left the room. Tifa was clearly out of patience with the old man's rambling.

He waited a while longer, until Tifa entered with Yuna. "Cloud, we need to head to TONBERRY," she said shortly.

Cloud nodded and stood up. "Yeah. Thank you for your time," he said to the Jones'. "If we make any headway, we'll be sure to let you know."

Mr and Mrs Jones returned the greeting and saw them out soon after.

"Well...that was strange," Cloud murmured as they got into his car.

"That dude's fucked up and so was his wife!" Tifa shrugged indifferently. "But their daughter...something's not right."

"Well, what would you expect? Growing up in a house full of people like that?" Cloud returned, jerking his head back at the Jones residence.

"That's not what I mean," Tifa said, thoughtfully. "She's hiding something!"

"We agreed it was a man that did the murdering," Cloud said as he pulled out onto the freeway.

"Well in any case, as soon as we finish gather evidence from TONBERRY, we're to meet Yuna at Besaid Cafe."

"How did you manage to do that?" Cloud asked, giving her a look. He wouldn't have put it past Tifa to pin the poor girl against the wall and demand answers.

"I asked," she replied simply. "She was itching to spill. I think Braska and his wife didn't have a clear picture of their eldest."

"Woman's intuition?" Cloud couldn't resist jibing.

Tifa didn't deign to answer, instead fixing Cloud with a look so filthy, the detective felt like he needed to run home and shower.

He sighed it was gonna be a long day...

XXX

After finishing their business at the TONBERRY department, Cloud was in no mood to do anymore investigating for the day.

Not only had the bastards refused to give forth any information, for _classification _reasons. They had also refused point blank to allow neither himself nor Tifa to personally examine any evidence they collected.

"Oh stop pouting like a kid that didn't get ice-cream for fuck's sake!" Tifa snapped. "As much as I'd like to slap you on the head at time, this moody silence is killing me!"

"They were completely out of line!" Cloud exploded. "They're fucking lucky I don't report them for witholding evidence!"

"They had a good excuse," Tifa said with a shrug. "Besides, its not like any of that will help us."

"Oh and why is that?" Cloud asked, his sarcasm biting.

Tifa gave him a glare. "When your vagina stops bleeding, maybe we can talk like mature adults."

"Look who's talking," Cloud snarled.

"Actually I'm not much younger than you. Just because I don't act like I have a cactus in my ass doesn't mean I'm young," Tifa shot back.

"Oh really? And how old is that?" Cloud asked.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you its rude to ask a lady her age?"

"Who says you're a lady?"

"Well," Tifa said, adjusting herself. "The girls do."

Why couldn't Lezard have stuck me with a chick with small boobs? Cloud moaned inwardly. This was just not his day.

XXX

Besaid Cafe was a charming place. It was an island themed cafe on the beach in Sector Five. The building was made of pine wood, as was the bar, decorated with colourful hues of red and yellow with garlands of fresh pink flowers hanging from the thatched ceiling. Brightly coloured umbrellas gave much needed shade to the beach goers in desperate need of refuge from the burning sun.

The food was good, the drinks better, set against the backdrop of the setting sun, colouring the sky deep purple and blue, it made a very picturesque sight. It was the kind of place that might well attract a crowd of care-free teenagers.

The cafe was almost empty now, with only a few odd patrons littering the wooden benches. Too early for dinner rush, but too late for the main crowd.

For the second time in less than five hours Cloud felt like a fish out of water. Everything in this place felt so _young!_

He felt Tifa's hand tap his shoulder, and she nodded towards a lone bench in the corner.

Yuna Jones sat there, alone. The young girl was evidently nervous. She kept wringing her hands under the table. Her strange eyes darting towards the entrance every few seconds.

"Hey," Cloud said as he sat down.

The girl didn't answer, just gulped and nodded.

Cloud sighed. Dammit! How was he supposed to deal with teenagers? He had next to no experience with them. Minerva help him when Marlene reached Yuna's age. The girl was already a handful at five, he shuddered to think about her at seventeen, with puberty under her belt!

"You said you wanted to tell us something, right Yuna?" He said as gently as he could.

The girl nodded but still couldn't get any words out.

"Take your time," he went on, deciding just to wing it. They needed her, she obviously knew something, but she needed to know she could trust them. "I know you're scared, and its okay, Lenne was your sister-"

Yuna shook her head violently. "N-no, its not that!"

"Then what is it Yuna?" Cloud said patiently. He leaned in, looking the girl straight in the eye. He could feel Tifa's surprised admiration next to him. "Trust me," he said holding her gaze.

Yuna's bottom lip quivered. "If they find out I said anything-"

"No one has to know Yuna," Tifa joined in. Evidently deciding Cloud's method was working, she ditched her usually foul manner. "This is just between us."

"Y-you have to promise me," Yuna swallowed again. "Promise me that no one will know I said anything. If they find out..."

"Who?" Tifa asked, raising an eyebrow. "Your parents?"

Yuna shook her head violently. "My parents...don't know the truth."

"But you do," Cloud said softly. "Please Yuna, whoever did this needs to be stopped. Do you know who killed Lenne?"

"No, I d-dont know who k-k-k-" she stumbled over the word. She took a deep breath and looked close to tears. "Lenne...wasn't who my mom and dad thought she was. She did bad things, she was with bad people."

XXX


	7. Chapter 7

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_ Hello everyone! Sorry for the late update, but to make up for it this chapter is much longer than most of the others. I've decided to go on a small tangent here, in my other stories, the character interaction was the focus, with the plot acting as the backdrop, here its the reverse, however I needed to take a small break from writing the most intricate and confusing story-line I've ever tried. So I'll be posting a side story to keep y'all entertained in the meantime, so enjoy y'all!

In other news the new chapter of Strange Clouds in rought 60% finished! Thank you to all those who have waited patiently, it should be up by the weekend! Till then cheers!

XXX

Cloud's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he looked on the small brunette who still wrung her hands nervously and swung her head to be sure no one else was watching.

He felt Tifa lean in further next to him, her maroon orbs never once leaving Yuna's strange eyes.

"What was she involved with Yuna?" She asked, her voice softer and more comforting than Cloud had ever heard. "If you tell us, we might be able to bring her killer to justice."

Yuna's bottom lip quivered. "Lenne was a good sister to me, we never fought or argued, but it all changed when she met _him!"_

Cloud raised his eyebrows, to that point Yuna's voice had remained, shaky, soft and unflinchingly polite, and yet...when she spoke those words, her entire demeanor had changed. Her eyes flashed, her lips curled, the venom in her voice unmistakable.

"Shuyin," she muttered, nearly spitting out the name.

"Shuyin?" Cloud asked, inviting her to say more.

"He works at another bar on this beach," Yuna went on. "His brother and I are friends, so that's how he met Lenne. I tried to tell her he was bad news but she didn't listen!"

"Yuna, do you think this Shuyin killed Lenne?" Cloud asked, the girl's new disposition truly frightened him!

Yuna nodded. "If anyone did it, it would be him!"

Cloud exchanged a worried look with Tifa, the older brunette seemed equally alarmed. "What else can you tell us about Shuyin and his relationship with Lenne?"

Yuna sighed. "When she got together with him, she changed, she started doing awful things, really bad things!"

"Like what?" Tifa pressed gently.

Yuna opened her mouth, then closed it, evidently some inner struggle was taking place. "I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone," she whispered, almost to herself.

"She's gone now," Tifa said quietly.

This seemed to strengthen the little resolve Yuna had within her. "She started taking drugs, I saw her one day with a needle and she freaked out! She made me promise not to tell anyone, she said she wasn't addicted, that she was just trying it!"

By this point Yuna had burst into tears, her voice had risen to an extremely high pitch and her words were beginning to become lost in sobs!

Cloud felt Tifa flinch next to him, he himself was unsure what to do next, but it seemed Yuna's dam wall had broken.

"Then a few weeks before she...passed on, I found a pregnancy test in the bathroom! It was positive!" Yuna had calmed down sufficiently to speak again.

Cloud's jaw had dropped. There had been no mention of Lenne being pregnant in the post mortem. Surely if she were Shalua would have picked it up, especially as she had been raped.

"Where can we find this Shuyin?" Cloud asked, realising the girl had already said all she was prepared to at this point in time.

Yuna hugged herself tightly before speaking. "The Zanarkand Abes bar."

XXX

"So what do you think of that?" Tifa asked Cloud as the two of them walked out of the cafe.

Cloud shrugged. "Hard to say, Yuna clearly didn't approve of her sister's boyfriend."

"But do you think he would kill her?" Tifa asked. "Just because she was pregnant?"

"I've been meaning to ask, maybe I missed it but I don't remember Shalua mentioning that! And its a big thing to leave out!"

Tifa nodded. "Definitely fishy! Something in this doesn't feel right! But why would she lie about something like this! Its too big a jump to think its some teenage grudge!"

"I don't know hormones can really fuck a kid's head up," Cloud said glancing back at the cafe.

"Its a big lie to tell though," Tifa insisted, as she stooped to take off her shoes. The detectives had decided to take a stroll on the beach as they digested this newest piece of information.

The beach was largely deserted, although a spattering of bathers littered the dunes here and there, trying to catch the last bits of the escaping sun.

"Regardless of whether she was lying or not, we still gotta check this Shuyin character out," Cloud said as they passed an older couple who were lying hand in hand, watching the setting sun.

"Agreed, although I think we should wait until tomorrow before we stake it out," Tifa suggested.

"And why is that?" Cloud asked. "We still have plenty of time left."

Tifa shook her head. "Shuyin won't be going anywhere yet. Besides one of us has a wife and kids waiting for them to get home."

Guilt suddenly hit Cloud like one of the waves crashing down on the sure. In his excitement he had completely forgotten about Aerith and the kids! Dammit he had to leave right now!

"So I guess I'll be seeing ya later Spike," Tifa said, giving him a smile. "I'll catch a bus home."

With that she turned and continued to walk down the beach. Cloud gave her retreating back a look. "If you wanted to walk alone all you had to do was ask," he called after her.

Tifa laughed and turned to face him. "Well, I didn't wanna offend you! I mean saying I wanted to get rid of you might have pissed you off a little."

Unsure if she was being sarcastic or not Cloud just put his hands on his hips and smiled. "You know, I can't figure you out!"

Tifa stopped and looked back at him with curious eyes. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, one minute you look at me like I'm scum of the earth, and just now you smiled at me, so I'm confused," he said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well, I'd say its them pearly whites of yours!" Tifa replied. "You really should smile more often you know!"

Without saying another word, this myserious woman turned around and walked away leaving Cloud baffled as he watched the wind blow her hair.

_**XXX**_

Cloud heard an absurd amount of giggling coming from behind the door as he returned home.

Must be Aerith and one of her book club cronies, he thought to himself irritably. Probably comparing notes about what their husbands did to them everynight. He personally couldn't stand any one of those old wretches.

I'll show those hags! Cloud thought viciously to himself. Serve them right for idle gossip. Just pop in unannounced and scare the panties off them!

"Excuse me ladies!" Cloud boomed as he walked through the door, making twice as much noise as normal.

To his surprise there were absolutely no ladies to be seen, instead there were only two occupants in the sitting room.

Zack and Aerith were currently intertwined on the couch, wrapped tightly arround each other. Cloud's stomach plummeted in shock and disgust. Both of them had sat up at his intrusion, yet still their arms remained around each other.

Horror and sadness such as he had never known gripped Cloud with cold and icy fingers. How could they? Aerith, his loving wife was here trapped in another man's embrace. He knew if she did not like it she would have broken free, yet there she was consenting to being held by a man, who was his own brother.

The betrayal stabbed at Cloud's heart like a knife, what hurt him most was seeing the look of utter adoration on Aerith's face as she looked at Zack.

"Uhm don't stop on my account," Cloud said narrowing his eyes at the sight of there clutched appendages.

Seeing his brother's accusing gaze, Zack hurried let go of Aerith and gave Cloud a sheepish grin.

"Wipe that dumbfuck expression of your face Zack!" Cloud snarled. In his own house! On his furniture! With his wife!

Every instinct in his body was screaming to give Zack a solid kick in the groin, as he shoved him out of the door! And throw his bags after him! Once the shock had worn off, anger rose hungrily to take its place.

"Cloud! I spent three weeks trying to get Denzel to stop cursing and you, his father, start using language like that!" Aerith snapped, her usually placid face was twisted into an expression of uninhibited fury. "Zack is our guest! How dare you say things like that!"

"You're just as bad as he is!" Cloud shot back, his facing turning an unpleasant purple. "You're married to _me_, in case you've forgotten! And you've got _my _kid on the way! Unless there's something else you forgot to mention!"

Aerith's face went white with shock. "Are you accusing me of-of-" her voice broke as she stumbled over the words, with an uneasy galnce at Zack. "You bastard!" She shot out eventually, almost on the verge of tears.

"Aerith, Cloud, look I'm sorry this is my fault! I didn't know I was causing problems," Zack put in quickly with one look at his brother's livid face. "If it makes things easier I'll leave-"

"Damn right you will fucking leave!" Cloud roared.

"That's enough!" Aerith shouted with equal volume and venom in her own voice, despite the tears in her eyes, her voice was quite steady. "And Zack you're not the one who should leave! Its him!" She spat, gazing at at Cloud, her anger shining in her eyes.

"Are you gonna throw me out Aerith?" Cloud demanded, not backing down. "Three kids and five years of my life I've given to you! And what do I get back? My wife and my brother-" he could not bring himself to say the words.

"Don't try and bullshit me Cloud Strife!" Aerith shrieked. "You haven't given me anything of your life. You and your stupid career always came first! I'm actually surprised you got the number of kids right! You come home all hours of the night, leave before we all wake up! I doubt you even know the ages of your own children!"

"You-"

Zack hurriedly stood up and grabbed Cloud by the neck, pulling him away from Aerith who had now truly burst into tears.

"You still don't trust me," she said sadly, the heartbreak in her voice even cooling Cloud's temper somewhat. "I've given you my everything for so long, and you think I would turn my back on our marriage despite all of that!"

She gazed up at Cloud and blinked her tears away. "It just shows I guess," her voice became stronger and angry once more. "For your information Zack and I are nothing more than friends! He's just told me he thinks he might be gay and was trying to get round to telling you! Although its so _typical,"_ she spat the word out. "Of you to go and jump to the worst case scenario!"

Cloud heard nothing else of her speech, his eyes jerked to Zack who's eyes had widened in horror at Aerith's words. Aerith herself seemed terrified of her own blunt proclamation. "You're what?" He demanded.

"I was gonna tell you Cloud," Zack began.

"Get the fuck off me!" Cloud snarled, shaking out of his brother's grip. "Don't touch me!"

Zack let him go, gazing at Cloud sadly.

"He's your brother!" Aerith shouted, aghast. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

Cloud's gaze flickered between the two of them, from Aerith's tear-stained face, to Zack who was looking at his feet. Without another word he turned on his heel and strode out the door without a backward glance.

XXX

Tifa Lockhart was relaxing on her couch in a loose sleevless white blouse and denim shorts when she heard a knock on her door. Frowning slightly to herself, she stood up, not bothering to put on shoes, and walked to the door.

To her surprise, it was none other than her detective partner Cloud Strife. Aty first glance it seemed nothing was different with the man, he was still impeccably dressed in a dress-shirt and jeans and his shoes were expertly polished.

"Well this is an unexpected pleasure," Tifa said, giving him the up-down. "Just when I thought I was shot of you for the-"

"I'm not in a mood for you're sarcasm right now!" Cloud said shortly, although his tone was calm, his voice shook as if under strain. "Can I come in?"

Shrugging at his off demeanor, Tifa held the door open for him. Upon closer inspection it seemed something was truly wrong with the young detective. His shoulders were slumped as if defeated, his face was slackened as well. Whatever it was, Tifa thought privately, his whole world has been turned upside down.

"Well so you're obviously not here for my biting commentary, so I'm assuming you've had a brainwave on the case?" Tifa asked as casually as she could manage, hoping that was the case.

Cloud shook his head, and collapsed on the couch and dropped his face into his hands.

"Okay, that was optimistic to the point of stupidity," Tifa said. "Look Cloud, I'm not trying to be rude here, but you look like shit! So what's the deal?"

Cloud gulped and raised his head from his hands and looked at her, his eyes turbulent. "I just didn't know where else to go..."

Tifa fought not to roll her eyes, while sshe sympathised with the idiot, she really wasn't the best therapist. "Okay, look I'm gonna go put on some shoes and get some coffee then you can tell me about it 'kay?" She asked.

At his nod, she walked off, casting a confused look over her shoulder.

XXX

The murderer stalked through the night, ignoring the sounds of joy permeting the air around him.

His destination lay a few blocks away, his prey almost in sight...

XXX

Tifa lived in a comfortable two-story home. It was roughly as large as Cloud's, although it was clear the young woman resided alone.

He often thought Tifa to be the type to stay at a cheap studio-like apartment, perhaps with a few other girls her age, just goes to show how misleading appearances were. He noticed a grand piano in remarkable condition in the next room, which was clearly dedicated to art, as he noticed a couple of paintings and an easel nearby.

On the mantelpiece in her living room, directly opposite the couch he was sitting on, glittered a bunch of framed photographs.

Pretty much looking for any excuse to take his mind off the turmoil in his soul, he stood and went to have a look at them. He figured Tifa wouldn't mind, after all if they were private memories she wouldn't have placed them in plain view.

He noticed a couple of photos of two middle-aged people, her parents he supposed, smiling and waving at him along with a teenage Tifa between them.

Next to that was a silver photo album, with the legend "_Memories" _written in a sparkly, fancy print on the front.

Opening it, he paged through a couple of everyday photos of Tifa and a few friends, but what interested him most was a few taken at a late night party.

The first showed Tifa standing next to a short girl in a yellow dress with short brown hair which curled at the bottom of her short bob. Tifa herself looked much younger, her hair was shorter too, cut just below her shoulders and streaked blond near the front. She was wearing a strapless crimson top over black shorts with black high heels. Both of them were pulling a funny face at the camera, and Cloud was shocked, there was real laughter in her maroon eyes. Not the usual sardonic, cynical with usually found there, but true and honest fun and mischief.

Flipping the pages he came across more pictures of the same party. Once showing her sticking her tongue cheekily at the camera, while dancing with a young who had long red hair, and another with two other girls, trying out a cocktail through three long straws.

He turned the page and saw that the party had moved from a nightclub to the beach, as everyone had moved there while still in their party things.

One picture in particular had captured his interest. It featured Tifa sitting on an outcrop of rocks along with a dark-haired young man he had come across in a few photos, but had never focused upon. He had a stern face, and a red scar running across his nose. Cloud supposed he was a good-looking guy, with high cheek-bones and not a hint of stubble under an untidy mop of brown hair. He was also tall, judging his proportions next to Tifa, who was no small woman either, and muscular, wearing a fitted leather jacket with a fur lining on the collar along with dark jeans. What attracted his gaze was both Tifa and the man's looks. Both were staring at each other with an unadulterated look of happiness and adoration. Clearly they were a young couple in love, though they did not touch, their expressions were enough.

The next photo showed a group shot of the entire entourage; Tifa, her dark boyfriend who's face had softened into a look of joy, the young girl she had posed with, the boy she was dancing with in the club and an older-looking blonde woman dressed in red and finally a stocky youth with short blonde hair and a large tatoo on his face.

All six of them smiled at the camera, arms around each other in one happy moment.

"Snooping around already I see," a voice from behind him broke through Cloud's musings. Tifa had returned, complete with two mugs of coffee.

"Just having a look," he said somewhat defensively.

Tifa shook her head. "I guess its just second nature now, doing what you do."

Cloud forced a laugh, and held up the picture of Tifa and the dark youth and showed it to her. "Who's this? Boyfriend, summer fling?"

Tifa shook her head. "Try ex-husband."

"You were married?" Cloud couldn't mask the shock in his voice.

Tifa smiled and nodded. "Yep, dating at seventeen, married by nineteen and," she let out a sigh. "Divorced by twenty-one."

"Sounds heavy," Cloud muttered, replacing the album on the shelf. "So what happened?"

"Its a long story," Tifa said with a shrug, before handing him a mug and sitting down. "Now what's so troubling that you put aside your mild dislike of me to come for a visit?"

"I don't dislike you!" Cloud said, blushing slightly. Tifa had just reminded him of what was swirling around head for a moment. "Okay you do piss me off occassionally."

Tifa giggled. "Well that's what friends do I guess, you spend half the time enjoying their company and the other half wanting to throttle them!"

"Couldn't have said it better," Cloud agreed, sitting down next to her. "So...are we friends?"

"Well I spend more time with you than anyone else recently, so I guess so," Tifa said. "So now, what's wrong, you march in here looking like an angsty teenager and flop down like you've been having a nervous breakdown!"

Cloud took a deep breath. "Well as soon as I got home, I caught Zack and Aerith on my couch-"

"That sounds pretty nasty," Tifa said with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah only there was nothing fishy going on!"

"Okay, now I'm confused!"

"And we ended up having a big argument!"

"To be expected."

"And at the end of it, Aerith let's slip that Zack just came out to her!"

Tifa's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't look overly concerned. "And that's bothering you why?"

Cloud gave her an incredulous look. "Maybe you didn't hear me right."

"No I heard you, I just don't see why its a big deal," Tifa said, reclining backwards and taking a sip of coffee.

"Well for starters, Zack's my older brother and well growing he was my-"

"Hero," Tifa finished for him. "Cloud think about what you're saying, are you really surprised?"

Cloud looked away from her for a minute. "Y'know Zack was always the better one of us. He would get good grades without even trying, whereas I studied my ass off just to get close to his standard, he was like the centre of attention all the time," he said quietly. "He didn't do anything like it on purpose, he just naturally made people comfortable, it was impossible not to like him. Every girl wanted to date him and every teacher wanted to adopt him."

"So that's why its so hard to accept," Tifa said with a nod.

"I used to look up to him at first, wanted to try and be like him," Cloud gave a wistful smile at the memory. "He always told me not to be stupid, that he had his flaws too, I guess now I know what he was talking about! But tell me one thing," he said suddenly to Tifa. "Was it really that obvious?"

Tifa screwed up her face for a moment. "Not really," catching sight of Cloud's face she quickly amended, "Cloud the man's gayer than Edward Cullen in a Wonder Woman cosplay!"

"So am I the only one who didn't know?" Cloud asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You saw what you wanted to see," Tifa said, looking completely unconcerned. "Although seeing as you two grew up together-"

"We didn't," Cloud corrected quietly.

"Huh?"

"We're half brothers, same mom, but different dads," Cloud said quickly. "His dad was a rich lawyer and my dad was the handsome plumber she left him for."

If Tifa was about to make any judmental comment, she didn't show it.

"He never once held it against me or my dad you know," Cloud said. "I was jealous, his dad would by him bikes, designer clothing, take him on big time vacations, you name it, he had it. And me?" He muttered bitterly. "I was just the Strife kid, scrawny little guy always with his nose in the wrong place."

Tifa was looking at him with a sad mixture of pity and sympathy. "So its not really a problem that he's gay is it?"

Cloud shook his head. "Nope I was just a little shocked!"

"So then why are you here?"

"Well..."

By the time Cloud had finished telling Tifa about the tiff he had had with Aerith, the woman's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"So not only were you insensitive about your brother coming out, but you also accused him of having an affair with your wife!" Tifa shouted. "Cloud, what the fuck? Did you have to jump to the worst possible conclusion?"

"Hey, it was an accident! What would you think if you walked in on your wife and your brother wrapped around each other like pythons!" Cloud shot back defensively.

Tifa sighed. "I suppose you're right!"

She leant back against the sofa for a moment, then got to her feet and strode to the door and opened it.

"Are you kicking me out?" Cloud asked in shock, staring at her as if she were mad.

"No Cloud, I'm asking you to go back to your wife and kids!" Tifa said gently.

"Some friend you are," Cloud grumbled.

"No Cloud," Tifa said patiently. "See, a good friend would probably let you stay the night to get away from all the shit at home. But a great friend...a great friend would to you get off your ass and make things right!"

Red met blue as Cloud searched for some sign of insincerity. He found none. Tifa simply made a sweeping motion with her arm out the door.

XXX

The door swung open to reveal his quarry. How fitting? Dressed in a fluffy nightgown of all things.

"Happy to see me?" The murderer asked quietly.

"No, can't say that I am," the other man answered just as quietly.

"Not inviting me in?" He sneered.

"I'd rather not deal with people like you in my own home!"

"Very well, I'll make this quick then," the murderer spat. "Word has reached me that two detectives have caught wind of our...activities!"

"And this surprises you how?" The murderer's hand twitched slightly to the gun in his coat. Was that disdain in that accursed man's voice? He spoke with an almost pitiful tone. "I can't say I wouldn't expect this, disposing of the girl in an alleyway? You've lost your touch my friend!"

"I know who made sure _that _detective was put on my tail," the murderer said. "My tolerence grows thin."

"Are you threatening me?" Blue eyes narrow on the murderer.

"Indeed I am," came the reply. "Well then, I shall leave you tonight, but rest assured I'll be checking up on you _very _soon!"

With that, the murderer turned and left without another word, he did not need to turn around to know that an expression of terror was etched onto his prey's face.

XXX


End file.
